Publication Date: Friday, October 28, 2005
Monk rock
Monk rock
(October 28, 2005)@12subhead:The Wayward Monks fuse soulful jazz, psychedelic rock and new age in their instrumental tunes
by Terry Tang
Usually, it's the parents who ask kids to turn down the music. But when Dan Zalles rocks out on electric guitar, he knows his 13-year-old son prefers the softer sounds of classical music.
"You think of parents into that and kids into loud, drumming, bassy music," Zalles said. "It's the opposite in my family."
His son Ian plays piano at such events as the Music@Menlo chamber music festival in Atherton. Meanwhile, Zalles has touted the guitar and trumpet at Jungle Digital Imaging in Palo Alto, San Francisco's Brainwash Café/Laundromat and other venues.
Since co-founding his own band four years ago, Zalles, a Palo Alto resident, has demonstrated the Wayward Monks is much more than a passing hobby. The rock-fusion quartet recently released its self-titled debut album -- a cross-pollination of soulful jazz, psychedelic rock and new-age tunes. Made up entirely of instrumental music, the CD is the product of a year's work.
As diverse as their sounds, Zalles and the other three members balance full-time jobs that are more academic than musical. And they actually like their jobs.
Zalles, who writes most of the group's songs, works as an educational researcher at SRI International in Menlo Park. The other Monks, who all live in the East Bay, are keyboardist Jason Ravitz, bass player Mike Disch and drummer Jeremy DeGroot.
Atypical for a band's birth, the Wayward Monks' back-story began at a research institute. In the fall of 2001, Zalles and Ravitz were co-workers at SRI. Aware of each other's musical abilities, the guys thought it would be fun to play together in the staff activities room. Soon, they were attracting colleagues to their jam sessions every Friday.
Inspired, they began looking for a bass player and a drummer, and found Disch, an assistant professor of psychology at Holy Names University; and DeGroot, a financial analyst. Despite an age range spanning from the 20s to 30s, the band members clicked right away.
"If you're into the band and music thing, it cuts across everything," Zalles said. "It doesn't matter what job you have or what age you are."
At 28, Disch is the youngest member. In past bands, he was always the oldest.
"It's definitely been interesting being the youngest, having to learn how to work with people who have much busier lives and realizing the reality of what having family means," he said.
The next step was settling on a band name. At first, the men suggested calling themselves Dr. Z, playing on Zalles' name and his doctorate in education from Stanford University. Zalles quickly vetoed the idea because it put him too front and center. So, for their first public gig, they went by Dr. X. That moniker, however, met a quick demise.
"We did a Web search and found Dr. X was bringing up some very strange Web sites," Zalles said.
So Ravitz thought of Wayward Monks. Associated with Buddhist and Christian monastic sects who strayed from the "correct" path, the words also jive with how the band experiments with their music, Ravitz said.
The musicians enjoy invoking the styles of favorite artists Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead. Also, composing instrumental music, Zalles said, has opened new territory in the fun of improvising.
"When the four of us are really grooving -- not just going through the motions -- the music takes on a life of its own," he said.
The Wayward Monks consider themselves a "jamming band." At least one member plays around with the melody, injecting syncopated rhythms, or changing the meter more than once during a song. Thus, every performance is a little different.
Besides holding weekly practice sessions at a friend's garage in Berkeley, the band members also put in their time on publicity. From pinning up fliers to maintaining their mailing list, Zalles and Ravitz are working to increase the band's exposure. Tired of schlepping equipment to gigs that amount to 40 minutes of performing, the musicians are determined to get bookings where they can jam for at least two hours.
Future gigs include a Nov. 12 performance at Dana Street Roasting Company in Mountain View and a Dec. 9 appearance at British Bankers' Club in Menlo Park.
Zalles would also love to entertain at a venue like the Fox Theatre in Redwood City. Other goals he envisions are radio play and film soundtracks. For now, he's happy to be in a band while still being a good father to his two kids.
"Music is a very important creative outlet for me," Zalles said. "Luckily, my family has been pretty supportive. They never complain as long as I don't get carried away."
What: Performances by the Wayward Monks, a rock-fusion quartet.
Where: Dana Street Roasting Company, 744 W. Dana St., Mountain View (Nov. 12) and British Bankers' Club, 1090 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (Dec. 9).
When: 8 to 11 p.m. Nov. 12, 9 to 11 p.m. Dec. 9.
Cost: The Nov. 12 performance is free, and the cover charge for Dec. 9 is still not determined.
Info: Call (510) 684-5926 about the Nov. 12 show and (650) 327-8769 about the Dec. 9 performance. The band's Web site is at www.soundclick.com/waywardmonks.
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